1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase separator intended to separate and to measure the volume of the various phases of a mixture of fluids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Knowledge that can be acquired of various petrophysical parameters of rocks during drainage or imbibition phases can for example be used to select the fluid having the highest ability to displace the petroleum hydrocarbons they contain and therefore to improve the efficiency of enhanced oil recovery processes in a reservoir. It is well-known to determine for example the saturation and the wettability of rocks with respect to fluids such as the water (generally in form of brine), the oil and possibly a gas phase that can be contained therein. Rock drainage operations are therefore carried out, i.e. displacement of the fluids in order to decrease the water saturation, followed by imbibition phases conversely intended to increase its water saturation (Sw). The capillary pressure can thus be measured at a point of a porous sample in the presence of water and oil in a continuous phase, which is defined as the difference Pc at equilibrium between pressure P(oil) and the pressure P(water) of the water. Devices allowing measurement of petrophysical parameters of rocks are described for example in French Patents 2,603,040, 2,708,742 or 2,724,460 filed by the Assignee.